ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TAPPEI NAGATSUKI, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF RE:ZERO, THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF THE FREE JAPANESE WEB NOVEL INTO ENGLISHJAPANESE WEB NOVEL SOURCE: HTTP://NCODE.SYOSETU.COM/N2267BE/242/

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ARC 4

THE EVERLASTING COVENANT

Chapter 75 [That Person]

Stumbling back from the impact as if he had a rug pulled from under him, Subaru widened his eyes at the blonde-haired girl glaring back at him.
Her blue eyes teeming with exorbitant rage and her beautiful face colored with a crimson hue, it was the Witch―― Minerva.

Taking her sharp gaze off the petrified Subaru, she turned to the entirely unfazed Echidona, standing opposite him.

[Minerva: I’ll say it again, this stops now. I will not allow this kind of contract]

[Echidona: ……Hm. Now isn’t this… quite an unexpected development]

It was a sentiment too familiar to be hostility, and too violent to be called rage. Standing in the crater she had made, single-mindedly directing this at Echidona, Minerva folded her arms, hoisting up her ample breasts while biting her lip.

[Echidona: Surely―― you should understand the significance of a contract with a Witch. The fact that you chose to interfere anyway…… could it be, that you also wish to seal a contract with him yourself? This wouldn’t be a case of sour grapes, now would it?]

In front of Echidona’s dodging jests, Minerva shot back with the shade of red deepening on her cheeks. Tears pooled in her eyes from the intensity of her emotions while her face pouted like a sulking child.
Her childish face entirely at odds with her voluptuous figure―― Subaru couldn’t help but be intrigued to see such a character in the flesh.
After all,

[Subaru: What… are you doing here?]

[Minerva: What. Am I not allowed to be here?]

[Subaru: Well, no. That’s not… but…… I mean, Echidona’s right here]

Saying this, Subaru pointed at Echidona as Minerva puffed up her cheeks in displeasure. Not seeing his point, Minerva tilted her head, while Echidona, apparently catching on, lightly clasped her hands together and nodded,

[Echidona: Ah, I think I know why you’re confused. ――You’re surprised to see another Witch manifesting while I am still here, correct?]

[Subaru: Y-yeah. I mean, since I’ve always met the Witches one-on-one…… I thought they kinda had to take your place when they appear. But……]

[Minerva: And she never said we can’t appear at the same time, I bet. That just sounds like the kind of prank this mean-spirited Witch would pull]

Huffing in rage, Minerva easily smacked down Subaru’s protests. Muttering [Seriously…?] under his breath, Subaru looked at Echidona. But, in front of Subaru’s gaze and Minerva’s address, Echidona made no effort to deny it.

[Echidona: I wouldn’t want you to misunderstand. Calling the other Witches here is quite a taxing and risky thing to do. There’s a chance they might even wrest away my control over this place, or, even if they don’t, it is still incredibly exhausting to manifest beings as powerful as them]

[Subaru: That’s…why? ……No, but, you……]

[Echidona: I’ve never once lied about this. I can assure you that much]

With that single incisive statement, Echidona sliced through Subaru’s faltering words.
It was true. Searching through his memories, Echidona had never said anything about this present situation that would constitute a lie.
It was only Subaru’s imagination going off on its own when he was presented with this phenomenon.
So, in the end, technically Echidona hadn’t actually deceived him, but,

[Echidona: I just didn’t want you to know that other Witches can manifest as they wish, and have them take you from me]

[Subaru: H, uh?]

[Echidona: To me, you are the first guest I’ve had in a very long time. Conversing with you had thrilled me in ways I’ve rarely ever been thrilled, whether it be before or after my death. If I told you I simply wanted to have you here, all to myself, would you berate me for my shallowness?]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Echidona: I know I keep on saying this, but I am rather fond of you. And so, I didn’t want your interest to shift onto other Witches more charming and more helpful than myself. ――Go on, you can laugh at me if you wish]

So this extreme, hideous desire to possess―― was her reason for hiding it from him.
Quietly listening to Echidona’s excuse without saying a word, Subaru wondered why she would have this obsession towards him―― just what about him warranted this kind of fixation?
It was the same with the Witch of Envy, and now Echidona, too. Just why would they――

[Minerva: You’re way too easy to dupe, you know that!?]

[Subaru: ――Ddgah!?]

Just as his mind was sinking into thought, Subaru’s head was bumped by a soft fist from behind.
He turned around holding his head, and found Minerva right behind him. She took the hand he was holding against his head, and, in one fluid motion, she twisted his arm and flipped him onto the ground.

[Subaru: Oa, aah! Wai-, hurts hurts hurts…… or… not?]

[Minerva: When I directly touch anything living, no matter what action I take, it would be transformed into healing. I could punch with all my strength and it would close wounds, I could wrest you to the ground and it would cure you of your diseases, I could place you in a lock and it would fix of your shoulder-pains…!]

[Subaru: That…… explains why my body’s not aching all over, but]

While his body was savoring the full power of the Witch of Wrath, Subaru frantically twisted his neck to look at Minerva as she locked him in a hold.
Despite the creaking of his bones and the horribly-unnatural-looking directions his joints were being twisted in, instead of pain, all he felt was an incongruous warmth spreading throughout his body. This Witch, with the strange Authority to instill every action with restorative powers―― come to think of it, Subaru hadn’t had a single bad impression about her up to now, but,

[Subaru: What the hell’re you trying to do……?]

[Minerva: If I didn’t do this, you would’ve been happily cajoled into getting all ready to sign a contract with Echidona. This careless, braindead attitude of yours is really pissing me off!]

[Echidona: Cajole, makes it sound bad. I only remember explaining the benefits of sealing a contract with me and working to reach a mutual understanding……]

[Minerva: It’s the way you make it sound like you’ve fulfilled your responsibility to explain that’s getting to me. You explained the benefits alright. You did…… then when it’s about the inconvenient details that come with the contract you didn’t say a thing!]

In a fit of rage, Minerva angrily stomped down her foot. The place where her heel landed was exactly on Subaru’s butt, as he felt the inexplicable sensation of a heel driving into his rear while its force passed through him, crushing an indentation into the ground.
While feeling his bowel functions being somehow improved by this strike to his behind, to Subaru shock, he began to realize the meaning of Minerva’s words.

――It was true, that his conversation with Echidona hadn’t touched on the detriments of the contract at all. Just how was it that it took him so long notice it?

[Subaru: No, but…… calling them detriments…… it’s not actually that serious, is it?]

[Minerva: “It won’t be that bad”, is that what you’re thinking? You are taking contracts way too lightly. Especially when the other person is a Witch―― the one who, out of the seven Witches bearing the names of Sins, has forged the most contracts, interacted the most with humans, and meddled the most with the course of history: the Witch of Greed]

[Echidona: All those were my laurels in life…… though it’s true not every one of them would be what you’d call honorable. And, it is also true that sealing a contract with me did not necessarily save all of them]

What Minerva put forth was something Subaru never knew about. Following on Minerva’s words, Echidona insisted on her lack of any ill-will towards Subaru.
Stuck between the two as they asserted their stances, Subaru’s head was at the peak of disarray.

He didn’t know whose words to believe.

Ever since Subaru got involved in the Trials inside the Tomb, his multiple meetings with Echidona and all the time they spent together deliberating over his worries had led him to consider her a sort of comrade in arms.
And so, when she proposed to forge a contract to formally seal their cooperation, a part of Subaru even felt relieved.

On the other hand, compared to the time he had spent with Echidona, he had had very few opportunities to speak with Minerva. Yet each time, it was when he was on the brink of collapse that she mercifully saved him with her mighty arms before exiting like a hurricane without demanding even a “Thank you” in return.
Minerva had no reason to deceive Subaru, so if it was a matter important enough for her to manifest herself to intercede, then there might be reason for him to carefully reconsider.

Or, actually, rather than pondering like this, he should first be asking this question.
That is――

[Subaru: Echidona. If we seal this contract… you’ll have to get something in return, right?]

Echidona loses a lot of points for this contract shenanigans, and then the Rem thing is unforgivable. At least Camilla looks like she might be good, I wonder if she is so shy because everyone reacts poorly when they realize shes an imposter since it seems she has no control over it.

i was calling her manipulative while ago n pl were saying i was drunk. not sure if minerva is really the real one it is echi tomb and she is known to lie. so not sure if she really wants the contract to happen. but yeah he refuses >prefers beatrice Xd

lol yeah and he will know soon or sooner >if people stop pestering poor chicken to translate jump on arks< but the thing is dona admitted her self that she does not know how it works soooo how is she so god damn confident that it has no limit n making the contract happen wont suuper piss the witch off? either she is lying or she just does not care

I was just thinking about how dona is the witch of greed when the only greed in her is the thirst for knowledge. I didn’t think it was enough to make her a witch, it’s not that i’m comparing her to subaru or any other greedy people

I think, the degree of this “thirst” is what makes the difference. What would she do to satiate her curiosity? Only observe? Or conduct experiments? Or torture people just to see what happens if?
She may be batshit insane, and just too good at hiding it.

i still wonder if if the wisdom books are auto writing or are directly being written by echi. by how emotional they get over the books pretty sure its by echi. for instance its probable echi knew about rem getting att and did not try to prevent that from happening >why sub was strangling ross< o and letting the oni village burn down waiting for ram to lose her horn n then 'saving' them yeah theres enough to hate her

idk sub was saying how the witches book he had looked like messy hand writing. n beako keeps expecting orders from her mother. well i basically know how the ark ends which is rather unexpected n awesome. lets just say there are a few more revelations so look forward to it XD

It’s interesting how Subaru’s senses all react the same in Citadel. The please is completely separated from reality, yet mimics the minute details of reality. Smells, tastes, touch.

It leads me to question what the dream really is. Is it a separate area for these spirits to reside? Volcanica and the Sage put them there, as a last line of defence. Is it a separate reality in itself?

i know gluttony created the mabeast including the 3 big ones >like without trying at allforgetting< but basically if she kept on using her powers the entire world would have been destroyed/at the very least unlivable for humans. lust can kill you just by u looking at her. dona top tier in everything magic even creating spirits like puck, beatrice n i believe petel.

Made me thinking. Subaru just appeared at the Crown City out of the blue, and no one paid any attention to it. What if that was also kind of memory wipe, where he forgot forging a contract with Satella?

Who knows? Then again, what would be the point of Satella wiping his memory? Especially considering this is a Mega-Jealous, Mega-Yandere Witch we’re talking about. You’d think it’d be the other way around…

That… well, I had a theory that whoever gave Subaru his RBD actually didn’t need anything in return – just him having a life he wants. RBD, though dark in nature, doesn’t demand much in return for saving his life. You would expect Jealousy put a chain on him, but RBD doesn’t work that way – he is always free to choose, and protected from the worst outcome.
He could just run away and hide and never get to suffer or fight – and nothing would stop him from living his life away from word’s problems.

What if this “curse” was actually the Devil’s way of being kind to him, for some reason?

Well, you’re right there. Envy loves Subaru, so she gave him RBD so that no matter how dire a strait he’s in, he’ll always manage to succeed. How she wants him to reciprocate that love, we’ll have to wait and see.

She wants Subaru to kill her. Which isn’t an easy thing to do as she’s the most powerful witch, she can’t even die if her psychical body dies, she’ll just come back. She says this in this chapter when Subaru leaves the tea party so this fact isn’t that much of a spoiler if your worried about being spoiled.

he still had his bag of chips n cell phone still had power >think it still does >probably turned it off>who knows mana recharge bullshitor rbd was given to him by someone else like the other ‘blessings’ o n for those that my not know al the other Japanese guy also has a power

Yeah he just popped there and a small detail about this chapter— if your gonna make contracts u need physical contacts— then Subaru and Satella should have touched its other (at Subaru’s last moment in his first death he held Satella’s/Emilia’s hand behore he died) so is that how he got RBD? but how the hell did he teleported in that world in the first place?

Minerva is a nice girl, and I like her more than Dona so far. It doesn’t look like she can plot even if she wanted to. And unlike other witches she seems genuinely kind, for a change.
Isn’t it ironical how the Witch of Wrath can be so violent and benevolent at the same time. Like, her wrath fixes injustice and suffering instead of causing it, turning into a good lovable thing. A wonderful take on 7 Sins, Tappei-san.

Hey thank you very much for the translation. I had watched Re:zero a few years ago and did not even think to continue reading and so here I am having caught up in the space of a week and a lot of reading. I am, however, slightly confused as to how you have begun translating the other arcs yet still have not completed arc 4. Should I move onto the other arcs or should I wait until this arc is completed? Once again thank you for all your hard work!

Can someone pls tell me why Subaru didnt freaked out after going out of the store and teleporting in an entirely different place in the first episode of the anime, I mean he knew that he’d been summoned and now he’s thinking if freaking Realities exist of course it does how the hell did he get there in the first place, and something about RBD is familiar cause its like a game with savepoints or thats exactly what it is. I mean the realities Subaru tried to save should continue cause subaru isnt even from that world in the first place he just teleported there out of nowhere which means he didnt start thkse realities cause it already have a long history even before Subaru popped there. But if u consider TIME TRAVEL then yeah those realities would either continue or just blew up.

Terrible way of asking questions. I’ll try my best to interpret, but can’t guaranty the success.
So, why he didn’t freak out from being summoned?
Because he was an egoistic piece of shit. He was failing in life and wished for a chance to start over. Plus, he had a positive bias for parallel worlds due to video games and Manga. Also sometimes human reaction to stress can be delayed, until it finally sinks in how real the shit got.

As for realities, you should watch SteinsGate to better understand the concept of quantum muliverse.

And then suddenly a kind, strong woman, with ample breasts, turned Subaru into a human pretzel, hahah, ok I just can’t stop imaging about this xD

But, it was really nice of Minerva to come in at the last moment and stop the contract from being forged. Subaru must at least know the disadvantages and limitations of the contract before accepting it.

And love reading the comment theories of what’s gonna happen next here, heheh ^^ so much possibilities ^^

Kind of mis-timed, but after re-reading and mulling it over I think I can see how Subaru can get out of the issues of this arc. Kind of obvious, in hindsight, and someone else probably thought of it already: If Beako can move her door to the Sanctuary, then there IS a secret path out that doesn’t cross the barrier. Subaru can evacuate everyone via the Forbidden Library.

That leaves a fair amount of other problems to resolve, but basically, if he can get to the mansion and get the maids into the library before Elsa can come out of wherever she’s hiding, he wins. Beako can move the door to the Sanctuary and Elsa can’t touch them anymore. Then he just has to get everyone ELSE in there, which avoids the Great Rabbit, then have Beako move the door back to the mansion, and have Garf open it.

Elsa will have opened all the doors in the mansion looking for the library, but once she runs out of doors, she’ll either give up and leave, or more likely- close a single one and wait on the other side to ambush whoever comes out. If Garf opens the door, maybe with Frederika and Ram backing him up, she ought to be driven off.

Of course, convincing everyone to go along with this plan is another story.

The villagers would be part of the group that went into the library from the Sanctuary.

And yeah, Beatrice is an issue. Though her mood towards Subaru fluctuates wildly from day to day. One day he goes in and she’s being aloof, another day she won’t even let him in, another day she’s being all helpful, another day she’s actually suicidal. So who knows. Maybe he goes into the library and she just goes along with it. Or maybe he manages to squeeze some info about her out of Echidona and uses that. If he can press Dona into telling him what the terms of the contract are, maybe he can fulfill them. In that case Beako would probably follow Subaru to the ends of the earth.

Well, I doubt things will all be that easy. And I don’t have full confidence in Subaru to even think of this anyway.

Roswaal probably won’t accept just running, will he… The more I think about it, the more screwed Subaru seems.

Elsa isn’t just attacking the mansion, she’s somehow got detailed knowledge of the mansion’s secret passages, plus how to defeat Door Crossing. Plus the timing of the Great Rabbit attacking… seems too convenient to be a coincidence. The White Whale making a habit of showing up near places the Witch Cult is active would imply that the actions of these creatures can be directed somewhat.

The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony would be the logical suspect for controlling those creatures. He might even be behind Elsa too. If he can actually look at the memories he ate, then Elsa knowing all the mansion’s tricks makes sense (otherwise there has to be a traitor).

However Subaru gets out of this he’s really walking the tightrope this time…